July 3, 2011

PAWTUCKET â€“ Tim Norton has spent the better part of his professional career battling back from countless injuries. His latest setback is akin to the baseball gods kicking a man when heâ€™s down.
The homecoming originally planned for this weekend never happened. Norton did not pitch at McCoy Stadium for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre before friends and family hailing from Burrillville. Instead, the 28-year-old is toiling under the hot sun in Tampa, Fla., the Yankeesâ€™ spring-training facility â€“ Steinbrenner Field â€“ the scene of Nortonâ€™s latest attempt to rehab from shoulder woes.

July 3, 2011

WOONSOCKET â€” Richard A. DiPardo's working life has come full circle. He started out in teaching during turbulent times in the early 1970s and has remained involved with the Woonsocket Teachers Guild long enough to see those difficult times crop up once again.
This time, however, DiPardo will be counting on others to work though the new challenges as he accepts 40 years as an endpoint for his working career.
â€śIt is a decision I made with mixed emotions to be honest with you,â€ť DiPardo said while talking about his years with the Guild at its Cumberland Street office last week.